Re: The cost of Jewish communal responsibility

[Alex Jacobowitz <alexbjacobowitz...>]

B"H Munich
 
> Let's see. What are those mitzvot being violated.
> Stumbling block before the
> blind, since this can drive away anyone uncertain
> about whether or not they
> should practice Judaism, embarassing others,  the
> phrase "shanda for the
> goyim" also comes to mind.

Let´s be serious for a moment?
G-d Himself demands a 10% donation (FIRST tithe)
of one´s income to the Temple. THAT, friends
is a mitzva d'oraisa. Lesee, that means
that if your local synagogue requests $300 (per
person), you must have a yearly income of
a whopping (ready?) $3000 (net!). On the other
hand, if you have a yearly income of $30,000
(excuse me?), the Big Guy demands (drum roll, please)
THREE THOUSAND smackaroos. Gosh. No matter how
you seem to slice it, shelling out 300 bucks
for the shul is a great deal. And you get SEATS
to boot! And a concert, even!

And I guess the local sofer should donate
tefillin to me, too, hm? I mean, if he doesn´t
provide me with tefillin (AND for my chilren),
then that might be a stumbling block to my JUDAISM.
And he should throw a few mezuzas in, of course.

And tzitzis.
And the local fruit vendor should donate a lulav
and esrog to me. Hey, I mean it would be embarrassing
to have to pay for it, right?
And did I mention kosher food? Shouldn´t the butcher,
well, just DONATE the food to me?
And shouldn´t the Jewish funeral home just give
me my coffin for free?

No, friends. If we want a quality life, we have
to pay for it. And if that means that Paul McCartney´s
concert costs 80 bucks a ticket, I pay it. And
if Yom Kippur tix cost 300 bucks, I´ll pay it.
Because everything is in His hands, including
my income for the coming year. And I´ll daven
with special kavana. Won´t you too?

Shalom,

Alex

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